captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> brown: police laid siege to an apartment building in southwestern fran today, where a gunman claiming ties to al qaeda was holed up. he's suspected in the murders of seven people. good evening, i'm jeffrey brown. >> warner: and i'm margaret warner. on the "newshour" tonight, we get two on-the-ground reports from i.t.n.'s jonathon rugman in toulouse and steven erlanger of the "new york times" in paris. >> brown: then, at the supreme court today: high-impact decisions, plus arguments over a confrontation with then-vice president dick cheney. we talk with marcia coyle of the "national law journal." >> warner: for our american

graduate series, betty ann bowser reports on a boston school, where early intervention for students with learning disabilities is producing lower drop-out rates. >> if we want kids to graduate from high school, that having a and for kids with significant learning disabilities, providing accommodations for reading a writing are critical. >> brown: ray suarez examines new studies showing a daily dose of aspirin may prevent and even treat cancer. >> warner: and gwen ifill talks with two senate veterans-- new mexico's jeff bingaman and maine's olympia snowe about their decisions to quit. >> brown: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by:

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>> brown: hour after hour, french police waited today for an accused gunman to surrender. he was wanted in a series of fatal shootings, including monday's attack on a jewish school. the shootings took place in and around the city of toulouse, where today's standoff played out. we begin our coverage with a report from jonathan rugman of independent television news. >> reporter: at around 3:00 a.m., police raided a block of flats believed to be home to two brothers and france's most wanted man. three policemen were injured by gunfire as they tried to storming the building. and an unidentified woman was taken away by ambulance. one man quickly gave himself up. but his brother refused to give in. he was described as a french national with an algerian mother who had been to afghanistan and pakistan and was claiming to be a member of al-qaeda. the suspect was later identified as mohamed merah in his early

20s whom police said was preparing to kill again. he had told them he wanted to avenge the deaths of palestinian children and the french army's involvement in afghanistan. >> ( translated ): he said he has no regrets besides not having more time to make more victims. and he's proud to have brought france to her knees. >> reporter: neighbors said they were stunned by the siege unfolding on their doorstep in a quiet residential neighborhood just two miles from the jewish school where four were gunned down on monday. this man told me the suspect lived in the same block as his son and had helped him move in a new sofa. now my son is stuck inside with special forces refusing to let him out, he said. another neighbor said merhah had been seen having fun in a club just three weeks ago. now i'm hearing he's al qaeda he said. our reputation as muslims will suffer. at the same time, the funerals

of those killed on monday were taking place in israel. france by now convinced it had found the man responsible for this anti-semitic outrage. but the first victim was a paratrooper one of three shot dead last week. and this afternoon all three were buried with full military honors. they were from muslim or ethnic minority backgrounds. and with muslims among the dead, president sarkozy today warning his country not to give in to revenge. all france's main political leaders were there today. in what is an election season, with many now asking why mr. merah who'd been known to the authorities for years wasn't identified earlier. >> tom: this man was followed for several years by the french intelligence and its agents in toulouse. during this period, nothing suspicions emerged. >> reporter: tonight police said they have found the scooter mr. merah used to carry out his alleged crimes. and the man quoted as saying he

was trying to bring france to its knees, has himself been cornered. >> warner: annow r more, we go to steven erlanger, paris bureau chief of the "new york times." steve, hello. what can you tell us about the latest? what's happening down in toulouse? >> well, unfortunately, the police are still surrounding the building. they have been talking to him all day, actually, since 3:00 this morning. and they're trying to get him to surrender because the authorities would like him alive. they'd like to put him on trial. they'd also like to interrogate him because clearly the french missed an opportunity. they took less seriously than probably they should have someone who had been to afghanistan and also to pakistan twice, most recently last summer. >> warner: so these connections, these alleged connections to al qaeda and afghanistan and pakistan, they're for real. >> they seem to be. i mean, no one really knows what

al qaeda is these days. but there is a lot of worry about european passport holders born in europe who are muslim who for some reason get disaffected or angry, who travel on their passports to afghanistan, pakistan. who somehow meet up with radical islam there. who are trained in some fashion and then return home where they live under constitutional protections. and this seems to be the model. this is the home-grown terrorism that everybody worries about. he was in afghanistan once before probably in 2009 or 2010 and then got arrested there had and sent home. but then he went back again last august and was there for two months, we now find out, and only returned home after he got hepatitis. so clearly some of what he's saying about, you know, his interests, certainly in radical islam and possible his training there, may be true. >> pelley: so what are the

authorities saying about why, with this background-- and we heard the interior minister say he had been followed for a while-- while he wasn't more quickly, at least, prevented, at least after the first attack, from the second attack? >> well, that's a question a lot of french people are asking because, of course, it is an election season and it is in the interests of the government to make it seem like everything was fine until it suddenly wasn't and they had nothing to do with what happened. but the fact of the matter is, someone who's gone to afghanistan and pakistan twice, whose brother was well known too be active on radical islamic groups and web sites, who had been in prison in france, who himself was interested in islam, you'd think that would be somebody that would be given a little bit more attention. the police say they only tacked him down when they discovered an e-mail sent from his mother's computer to his first victim, a

soldier, inquiring about buying a motorbike. and then when that clicked and they recognized the name they suddenly thought, ah-ha, this may be the guy, but they weren't sure whether it was him or his brother so they prepared the raid. >> warner: and what about the mother? her background and her role? >> well, it's hard to say. she was born in algeria. she says, you know, the police brought her to try to negotiate with her son and she said there was no point because he really doesn't listen to her anymore. and he's... he's clearly someone who had gotten out of parental control. he'd been in trouble with the law and he'd spent time in prison like, you know, many people he didn't have a very good job, life had disappointed him. life in france probably disappointed him. he probably faced a certain degree of racism in a society that still has trouble recognizing muslims as part of

itself and he found meaning and strength in this idea of jihad and radical islam. and it's not, unfortunately, an uncommon story. what's uncommon is that he's taken it to such a great extent to terrorize a big city in france and to deliver a tremendous blow both to the arm and also to the jewish community of france. i mean, france has the largest number of jews in western europe but also the largest number of muslims also. so intercommunity relations are very important and muslims leer very concerned that they will again be stigmatized because of the actions of this... of the apparent actions of this young man. >> warner: as we heard from that one young man in the taped piece. so this comes in the midst of a heated presidential campaign and immigration, i gather, has been one of the issues. how has this... what have been the reverberations of this

politically? >> well, i think it's going to help the president, sarkozy, for a while. i mean, he was always liked by the french for his law and order when he was interior minister. he likes to go to the spot. and he's been very tough on crime. he's been blamed for the rhetoric against immigrants, halal butchering, too far, banning the full-vase-faced veir women in france. he's been trying to move out to the right to make sure he doesn't mov lose out to the farr right much as the other candidate is moving to the left to make sure he survives into the runoff. but as it turns out it's not a person, it seems from the far right who's undone... done these deeds but someone from the muslim community so i'm afraid it's going to make

anti-immigrant harsh on crime anti-muslim rhetoric even stronger wrather than calm it down. >> warner: and would you say... is it because of the election or the economic situation that the discussion about immigration and assimilation has been particularly heated or is this an ongoing theme, really, for years now in french society? >> it has been an ongoing theme. and it's been an ongoing theme for nicolas sarkozy, let's be honest. even last summer i think or the... 2010. i mean, he gave a very harsh speech. he was attacked for trying to push out roma from romania and bulgaria who had extended their visas beyond legal limits. he talks about french identity in a way that on one shr +*efl l abouone level isabout secularisd

constitutionality and the other about a community, the muslims. and he's been concentrating on radical islam, not on the many millions of normal people, but on the growing trend towards to a basic islam. very popular among disaffected youth which has bled a little bit into this kind of violent jihaddism. so it's an issue that he's been on for quite a long time. he's been cynical about it, i think. but what happens in toulouse will make some people say, you know, i don't like the way he says it but the man has a point. >> warner: steven erlanger of the "new york times," thank you so much as always. >> brown: still to come on the "newshour": arguments and decisions at the supreme court; rly inrvention for children with learning disabilities; an aspirin a day to keep cancer away and senators snowe and bingaman on opting out.

but first, the other news of the day. here's hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: the u.n. security council today urged both sides in syria to seek a way forward. the council issued a unanimous, non-binding statement. it endorsed proposals by special envoy kofi annan, including a cease-fire, guaranteed humanitarian access and withdrawals of government forces. in washington, secretary of state hillary clinton urged syrian president bashar assad and the opposition to listen. >> this is a positive step. the council has now spoken with one voice. to president assad and his regime we say along with rest of international community take this path, commit to it or face increasing pressure and isolation. >> sreenivasan: twice before, russia and china vetoed resolutions aimed at condemning the assad regime. but they supported today's statement. in the presidential campaign, republican mitt romney picked up new support after winning the

illinois primary on tuesday. he won the endorsement of former florida governor jeb bush, who urged republicans to unite. in arbutus, maryland, romney said he got the word just before starting his campaign day. >> my cell phone rang and i looked at it and it just said jeb on it. i picked up the phone and it was jeb bush. and i didn't even have to ask, he said, mitt, i want to let you know that i'm endorsing you today and that was good news. >> sreenivasan: at the same time, a senior aide of his generated new criticism that romney will shed his conservative positions once he has the nomination wrapped up. eric fehrnstrom told cnn: that drew fire from rick santorum, in mandeville, louisiana which holds its primary on saturday. >> they think they have this you have an opportunity here in louisiana to make a very clear statement. you're not looking for someone

who is the etch-a-sketch candidate, you're looking for someone who writes what they believe in stone and stays true to what they say. >> sreenivasan: late today romney said "i was a conservative republican governor and i'll be running as a conservative republican nominee. the national football league came down hard today on the new orleans saints over paying bounties for big hits on opposing players. the n.f.l. suspended head coach sean payton without pay for the entire 2012 season-- an unprecedented step. and the team's former defensive coordinator gregg williams was banned from the league, indefinitely. n.f.l. commissioner roger goodell explained his actions in an interview with espn. >> it's more than sean payton here. uh, there are hundreds if not thousands of players, other coaches, that this reflects poorly on. and so, i don't take any of this lightly, i've spent a great deal of time, a lot of sleepless nights trying to figure out the right thing to do. i think we've done our homework

here. i've listened carefully and i have to do what i think is in the best interest of the game long term and the integrity of our league. >> sreenivasan: a saints assistant head coach and the team's general manager will also be suspended for part of the season. and, the franchise will pay a $500,000 fine and lose two future draft picks. on wall street, stocks searched for direction, but found little cause for a new rally. the dow jones industrial average lost 45 points to close at 13,124. the nasdaq rose one point to close at 3,075. the u.s. senate honored maryland democrat barbara mikulski today as the longest serving woman in congressional history. fellow senators congratulated mikulski on her 35-year tenure. she served ten years in the u.s. house, and is now in her fifth term as a senator. mikulski is now 75 years old. she said she hopes to be remembered for devotion to duty. the are some of the day's major stories. now, back to jeff. >> brown: it was a whirlwind day at the u.s. supreme court, with: a contentious split decision calling for new standards for criminal plea bargains; a unanimous decision in a much-

watched property rights case and arguments in a case involving a public confrontation with then- vice president dick cheney. marcia coyle of the "national law journal" was in the courtroom for all of it, and she joins us now. all of it... a lot of it today. >> a lot of it, jeff, yes. >> brown: let's start with decision number one. this involves new standards for criminal plea bargains. it's interesting because we learned so many cases today are decided... or are resolved in pleas. >> absolutely, jeff. the court... the sixth amendment in the constitution guarantees a right to a lawyer at every critical phase of the criminal justice process. and not just any lawyer, an effective lawyer. justice kennedy, who wrote the majority opinion today, said that that right extends to the plea bargaining process and he noted that 97% of federal criminal convictions stem from pleas and 94% of state conviction stem from pleas. >> brown: they were looking at two cases, and just to summarize

them, one in which a lawyer didn't tell his client that a plea bargain had been offered and another one in which the lawyer told the client but gave bad advice. >> absolutely. and justice kennedy said that a lawyer has an obligation to tell the client and if he gives him bad advice the client, the defendant, can make a claim of ineffective assistance of council. >> brown: it's a constitutional matter. >> that's right. and this is not a "get out of jail" card. because justice kennedy said also that the criminal defendant has to somehow that he was prejudiced. and that's a very steep hill for just about all prisoners to climb. >> brown: now dissent came from justice scalia and it was blistering. it was a very, very tough rang wapblg here. he called the decision "absurd." >> he doesn't mince words. he read part of his dissent from the bench, which shows how strongly he felt about it. he said that the sixth amendment protects the fairness of convictions, not the fairness of

plea bargains and he predicted that this would open up a whole new world of litigation by prisoners claiming that there were problems with their... in the plea bargaining process. >> brown: so we always like to ask this wider implication, but that's precisely the debate. he says it's going to open floodgates. the other side, justice kennedy, says it can be done a... >> well, he said one it's a constitutional right and so you take that risk with a right. but also it will... these cases will go back to the courts below to decide what kind of a remedy should be given if there is an effective assistance of council and justice scalia thought that was a bad idea as well that you're basically punishing prosecutors when it's really defense lawyers whos meed up. >> brown: all right. decision number two. now this is one you and i actually talked about a few months ago when it was first argued. it involves a couple in idaho that wanted to build on some property on a lake there and the e.p.a. said no, it's wetlands.

>> exactly. this couple wanted to go to court to challenge the e.p.a.'s jurisdiction over their property and they wanted to move under a federal law known as the administrative procedures act. the lower federal court said that the clean water act precludes preenforcement challenges to e.p.a. compliance orders o. so the issue before the court was rather technical. do these orders constitute final agency action? there's a presumption in favor of judicial review if they do. justice scalia was in the majority on this one today and he... >> brown: he had a busy day, too, today, didn't he? >> i think he was much happier with this case. this was also a unanimous decision. he said that e.p.a. compliance order have all the elements of final agency action. there was nothing in the clean water act that precludes judicial review and so the couple in this case could go forward to challenge e.p.a.'s jurisdiction over their

property. >> brown: not clear will they can build yet but they go back... >> that's right, they get their day in court. >> brown: and does this have wider implications for e.p.a. or other agencies? >> certainly for e.p.a. which issues an estimated 1,500 to 3,000 compliance orders every year. not just individuals like that sackettes but individuals and corporations as well. whether it will affect other agencies that issue similar compliance orders we're not really sure. a lot will depend on the statute under which those agencies operate. >> brown: okay, now, finally, not a decision but an argument today. to summarize the facts here, a denver man went up to then vice president dick cheney at a mall where he was making a public appearance, the man criticized the iraq war, he apparently tapped-- at least tapped--... >> or touched. >> brown: ... or touched the vice president on the shoulder. much of whatever happened is in dispute, even among the secret

service agents at the time. >> true. >> brown: he was then arrested, charges were thrown out but he brought a legal case. what is the legal argument of the dispute here? >> he sued the agents claiming that it was a an arrest in retaliation for his exercise of his free speech rights. and he was... the lower courts said that he could go forward with that case. the agents brought the case to the supreme court and they argued today... their lawyer argued today that secret service agents should be entitled to something known as "qualified immunity." not absolute immunity from these types of lawsuits as long as their arrest was based on probable cause. more than a reasonable suspicion but probable cause. and the arguments today were quite lively and i will say that it seemed as though the justices were quite sympathetic to the agents' argument. the lawyer said, for example, that secret service agents almost always operate in a free

speech zone. >> brown: almost by definition, right? >> absolutely. and he said they need breathing room, they need to be able to take into account what someone says in order to assess the threat level to the person they're protecting. the united states also argued in support of the agents today, but they have asked the court for a broader rule. and this gave some justices pause. the united states would like to see all law enforcement officers get qualified immunity if they are acting in a protective capacity and make an arrest as long as the arrest had probable cause. >> brown: but the man who brought the case, the colorado man, it's a first amendment case for him. >> it is a first amendment case. he said that actually the government was... and the agents' lawyer were offering a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. that there are so few of these cases in the court system that it would be a serious curtailment of first amendment rights to give this kind of

immunity to law enforcement officers. it might operate as a pretext to... you might... just breyer brought up you might arrest someone for jaywalking when you really were upset about maybe their t-shirt had something on it that you didn't like. he didn't seem to make a whole lot of headway with the justices. but as i said, they are concerned about a broad rule here. >> brown: and this one we'll see later on in the term i guess. >> probably sometime before june. >> brown: okay, marcia coyle, nice job. three cases, thanks so much. >> my pleasure. >> warner: now, how one school has succeeded in reducing the odds that a student with learning disabilities may eventually drop out. past studies have found that kids with disabilities drop out at more than twice the rate of other students. "newshour" health correspondent betty ann bowser reports on what can be done in the classroom to prevent that. it's for our series, "the american graduate project."

>> reporter: on a recent friday morning at the henderson inclusion elementary school in boston, there was organized chaos as nearly 250 students crowded into the auditorium. then it was showtime. ♪ the students were celebrating african american history month. but, the show was also a celebration of a unique public school where one third of the student body is disabled. and, where all the children are educated together in an inclusive setting. dr. tom hehir is a professor at the harvard graduate school of education and one of the country's leading experts on special education. >> it is not unusual that some kids don't walk, it is not unusual that some kids don't talk. it's not unusual that some kids struggle learning how to read or process information.

and so that philosophy carries through the whole school. >> reporter: for the kids with learning disabilities what goes on in the classroom is especially important. using federal government data the national center for learning disabilities says 20% of children with l.d. drop out of high school versus only 8% of the general population. and the center reports that half of secondary students with l.d. perform more than three grade levels below where they should be. >> not only is it more likely that kids with learning disabilities are going to drop out of school. it's also less likely they're going to re-engage in education. that's associated with unemployment, low wages, and you know there is evidence that there's increased likelihood of getting in trouble in the community and those are all bad

outcomes. >> reporter: so the emphasis at henderson is on early intervention and a big part of that is technology. former principal dr. bill henderson realized more than 20 years ago how technology could help l.d. kids-- he was going blind back then and had to learn braille from scratch. it gave him special insights. >> when we read, most people with their eyes, i now with my ears or with my fingers, you have to figure out what the text, print or braille dots are saying. that's decoding. and many children who have specific learning disabilities, in particular dyslexia, have to put extra energies and efforts into decoding text.

you cannot read as much material, you can't keep up with grade-level and rigorous material, >> i wanted to show you. >> reporter: current principal trician lampron showed us how one second grader with learning disabilities demonstrated his comprehension of a story he'd read writing in long hand. >> he wrote, not very neatly, "rosa helped blanca. blanca helped rosa." he did what the prompt told him to do, but obviously has a problem with writing and spelling. and is that a benchmark second grade response? i would say, "no, it isn't." >> reporter: then on another page she showed us what the same student wrote using a computer to explain his comprehension of a story. >> he uses a word prompting software, and it prompts him to produce something that's definitely more on grade level, and definitely more thorough. >> reporter: every classroom is a buzz with these kinds of teaching devices, computers,

ipads, digital audio programs that allow students to learn in a variety of different ways and at their own pace. two teachers are assigned to each class, working as a team. one is a general classroom professional. the other is a special education teacher. together, they brain storm what works for each student. this second grade classroom of 23 students has seven disabled kids in it and each one works at their own speed. so for dyslexic kids like ronan gorman comprehending text means using a traditionally textbook an ipad and head phones. principal lampron explained. >> ronan can listen to the book, also while he is reading along with the book, so sometimes he may use the book separately from

the ipad or he can read it in digital format and what that does is listen as well as read along. >> reporter: nine-year-old ronan had been held back twice before he entered henderson in september. his parents said he was unhappy and feeling like a failure. his dad gerry-- it was especially upset by all of this because like ronan he too is dyslexic. but in a few short months things have turned around. >> it's almost emotional for me to talk about it, because seeing him now, to seeing him from where he was and seeing me where i was at that age, he's doing what i used to do when i was 14. he's nine. so it... it's just... it's phenomenal. >> he smiles, he smiles a lot. he goes to bed every night with about five piles of books which he always did but now he reads them and he used to say to me i'm never going to learn to read this.

>> reporter: when bill henderson was principal he realized if kids like ronan didn't get help early they would fail later on. so he came up with the team teaching idea and introduced a robust arts program. >> the arts were terrific for kids with print disabilities and dyslexia. there are many outstanding artists and visual artists and dancers and singers who have significant dyslexia and they have a chance to shine and show their skills and their talents in a different medium and print isn't always the easiest way for them to do that. >> reporter: henderson has a full-time music teacher, several occupational therapists, a teacher who specializes in sensory therapy and on the day we were in this second grade classroom, there were five different teaching professionals helping 23 students. that all costs money.

under federal law, a child identified with learning disabilities must receive a free and appropriate education up to the age of 18. generally, the more the disabled a child is, the more money is allocated for his or her education. but harvard's hehir says there are many places in the country that don't spend that money wisely by segregating l.d. kids in special education classrooms, which costs more than spreading it around in inclusive settings. >> there's a large number of kids who are still inappropriately separated from their peers. and also the kids who are getting the better programs are much more apt to be middle and upper middle class. low income kids are much more apt to be segregated. >> reporter: there aren't

figures on how many students go on to graduate from high school, but both lampron and henderson have followed many of their former students through the years and say most of them are doing well. >> if we want kids to graduate from high school, that having a strong foundation at the elementary level is critical. and for kids with significant learning disabilities, and significant attention deficit disorders, having technologies, providing accommodations for reading and writing, are critical. >> reporter: there are hundreds of children on the waiting list to get into the henderson school and they aren't just students with disabilities. through the years, the reputation of the school has grown and today it's held up as a national model of what early intervention can do for children with learning difficulties.

>> keep your eyes on the prize. hold on. >> warner: "american graduate" is a public media initiative funded by the corporation for public broadcasting. on our website, we introduce to you to a one-time dropout, who's now a harvard graduate student. find out what advice he offers students and parents dealing with learning disabilities. >> brown: next, a new batch of studies point to the potential benefits of taking aspirin to treat cancer, but also raise important questions. ray suarez has the story. >> suarez: the new findings were published in a series of studies in the medical journal, "the lancet." they add to other research suggesting aspirin could play a role in combating a variety of cancers. among the most significant findings: a daily low dose of

aspirin taken for three years reduced the risk of cancer by roughly 25%. and regular use of aspirin over more than six years also reduced the chances of a cancer metastasizing. patients had few side effects from the aspirin. but some doctors and researchers say the case for using aspirin as a way of preventing or treating cancer is hardly closed. dr. andrew chan wrote a commentary about these issues to accompany the studies in "the lancet." he's an associate professor of medicine at massachusetts general hospital and harvard medical school. dr. chan, the "lancet" is pretty straightforward. the articles conclude regular use of aspirin reduces the long-term risk of several cancers. what numbers did they crunch from already existing aspirin studies to come to that conclusion? >> well, what the authors did was they looked at a series of clinical trials that were conducted in the '80s and '90s and through the 2000s to look at the use of aspirin in

the prevention of vascular disease and what they did was looked at cancer outcomes in those particular trials and also linked those trials to cancer registries in the united kingdom. and what they found was that the individuals that were in the study that were randomized to the treatment of aspirin did have a lower risk of dying from cancer over time. >> suarez: now, are we talking among the several thousand people they were watching about a few... >> right. >> suarez: less often occurring cases of cancer or are we talking about a significant in effect that population? >> no, we're seeing pretty significant effects. i think overall they saw about a 15% reduction in death from any cancer over time. so it is a substantial reduction when you think about the fact that cancer is one of the leading causes of death for paents. >> suarez: was this therapy found to be particularly effective against certain kinds of cancer? >> yeah. they did see some particularly strong reductions in the risk of colon cancer and also they did see some strong reductions in

the risk of other types of female reproductive cancers like uterine cancer and cancers of the breast. so there are various cancer types that seem to be particularly affected. but there was a uniform benefit across all cancers. >> suarez: is it possible to speculate on why this happened? we know what aspirin does when it's used to treat other maladies. what could it have been doing mechanically i th body that also provide provided this effet against cancer? >> well, there's definitely been a wealth of data that's emerged in the last couple decades, even, that has shown aspirin does have very significant anticancer effects. there have been a range of mechanisms proposed. i think one of the leading mechanisms that's been shown is that aspirin seems to block key enzymes that are responsible for cancer's growth and spread. these enzymes produce protoglandins that are known to be cancer promoting so that's

been hypothesized to be at play but one of the things we're learning more and more about aspirin is that aspirin has many, many different effects in the body and it just happens that many of these effects seem to be anticancer in nature. >> suarez: but we also know about aspirin's side effects-- gastrointestinal bleeding and ulcers, brain bleeds, higher risk of stroke. how do you measure the added risk of these side effects against the canceruppression effects of aspirin? >> that's definitely the caveat of these studies is that aspirin is definitely not for everyone and we do understand that aspirin does have significant side effects, as you mentioned, including gastrointestinal bleeding and more rarely intracerebral or intracranial bleeding or bleeding strokes. those are definitely circumstances that can be potentially dangerous and significant. so people do have to mention those, particularly if they're taking aspirin over a long period of time. so i think what we really need

to move forward on is understanding how people need to individualize their risks of these side effects in the context of their individualized risk of developing either cancer or vascular disease. so i think at this point in time we're not ready to make a broad recommendation that people take aspirin. i think we're encouraging folks to talk to their doctors to see if aspirin makes sense from them in view of particular risks for either developing cancer and heart disease or having a side effect from treatment. >> suarez: let's follow up on that more. what do we have to know before we, in effect, go wide with this as a therapy. it's a cheap drug with known side effects. a family history, predisposition to cancer be something that might have a doctor recommend it to an individual patient? >> it's a great question. i think it remains to be investigated further. i think we know there are

certain risk factors that seem to be particularly important to consider. i think last year there was an important clinical trial looking at the use of aspirin in patits that had a her redtory form of colon cancer and in that study they showed over a long-term follow-up that those patients had a lower risk of developing colon cancer over a ten-year period. so certainly patients that have a genetic predisposition to some problems like colon cancer would probably stand to benefit and in view of the side effects would probably... the benefits probably would outweigh the risks. but beyond that i think we're still looking at different risk factors and trying to analyze what are the most important ones to consider. a lot of that work has been done inhe cardiovascular literature so there appears to be certain algorithms people can use to assess someone's cardiovascular risk and use that as a way to stratify folks for aspirin therapy. but that work is relatively preliminary in the cancer field and i think what we're going see in the coming years is more and

more of an effort to individualize treatment and preventions in patients for cancer because different risk factors are at play for different types of cancer. >> suarez: dr. andrew chan, thanks for joining us. >> sure, my pleasure. >> warner: finally tonight, two veteran senators-- maine republican olympia snowe and new mexico democrat jeff bingaman-- are retiring. both have expressed concern the political middle ground is disappearing in washington. gwen ifill sat down with them earlier today. >> ifill: senator snow and bingaman, thank you for joining us. you have worked together on issues ranging from energy to health care. would you say senator snowe tt you represent the sensible center? >> i do. it's the willingness to come to the middle to sort through the issues and try to reach a resolution. recognizing that 2 t issue

you're working on is important and how do you get through from here and sort through the issues and that's critically important and having the impetus to do it, not just to be predisposed to one position and that's it. >> ifill: senator bingaman, you voted more party line than senator snowe has over the years and yet you are still defined also as a moderate in this setting. how would you define that? >> the only way that happens in this senate, in this congress, and really most of the congresses that i've served in is if you have bipartisan support. we've always been... i think when i came to the senate the republicans were in charge of the senate, then the democrats took charge and then the republicans took charge and then the democrats and back and forth. i think it's gone back and forth about six or seven times in the 30 years i've been here. so you have to have bipartisan support to get anything done. particularly with senate rules. >> ifill: except that now more than ever it seems as if the

senate in particular and the house as well are moving away from that idea of bipartisan agreement and support and anyone who veers from the party line is considered to be unreliable. >> well, what's happened is that each side puts up their party positions and that's the point i've been making is that you have to get beyond that. once they don't prevail, are you then willing to work out a resolution to the key question that's been the senate? and the senate was designed as an institution for consensus building, working on issues and trying to resolve those differences. but to become irreconcilable because once the party positions don't prevail then there's no impetus to moving forward to reach a different result. >> ifill: and you think things are irreconcilable now? >> i don't. i think it's a matter of changing human behavior and that's the bottom line. people have to step back and think what is the purpose of the

united states senate? what is the objective of rtaining in public office? i happen to believe it's problem solving. that i've come here to solve problems. that's why i've been in public office for virtually 40 years i believe we have an obligation, a responsibility, to address the issues that come before your state or country. >> ifill: senator bingaman, does it seem to you like things are stuck? >> well, i think what's happened is that the whole country has become much more polarized politically and you have... the media's polarized. youave... if you are of one point of view you know which channel to watch. if you're of another point of view you have a different channel you want to watch and i think that is being reflected in the congress and the congress is more polarized and you have a lot of people running for office on a plot form that they will not compromise once they get to washington, they will stick to

their guns and, of course, our system of government was design sod that you have to compromise or you can't... >> ifill: is it that people won't compromise because they can't or won't or because politically they can't afford to compromise? >> it's an interesting question because what jeff mentions is true. what's happening in the congress is reflective of the country as a whole. we now look at states of a red or blue or purple or whatever which i think is unfortunate because we don't look at the country as a whole in its entirety and people say to me, well, why won't you work together for the common good of the country? the whole issue with compromise is that people view it with disdain. somehow it's viewed as capitulation of your principles. it's not. >> ifill: you're both leaving. you can be free to say whatever you want. what would you do to make it work if you could? >> . >> i think there's no single fix

to the problem. our problem right now is you've got 90 some odd percent of the folks on the republican side have signed a pledge they're never going to raise revenue or raise taxes. that makes it very difficult to get agreement on an approach to reigning in the deficit. and when you add in the democratic demands. and there are folks on the democratic side who absolutely will not discuss any changes in entitlement programs. that makes it difficult, too. so you have to find a way we can bridge those gaps and people can recognize that some compromise is required. >> ifill: senator snowe, i hereby grant you a magic wand. what's the six? >> well, we could return to transparency and accountability would really, i think, build confidence in the integrity of the outcome of the legislative

solution. we don't have that anymore. it's a closed door. it either comes to the floor without going through committee, it's crafted behind closed doors. we have up or down votes. i feel like i'm back in the house of representatives, you have up-and-down votes. yoyou have an open amendment process, have people air their views and sometimes when you have th opportunity you might not agree on everything in the package which you might not because if it's a big package but at the end of the day you've made your voice heard on behalf of your constituents and the ultimate result is something you can support even if it's not everything i wanted. >> ifill: you're a democrat, you're a republican. you don't agree on a lot of fundamental issues, foundational, as some people would say, because of your party affiliation. yet in your departure, in your leaving this institution do you make the sent err little bit more soft? does the sent gore away even more with your departure?

>> well, it depends on who replaces us. i tend to think that... i can't speak for olympia's circumstance in maine but in new mexico i hope we elect someone who is moderate and willing to work for the best interest in the country. i hope do that and i assume she has the same hopes for her state. >> that's true. as you know, i made a statement as to my concerns about what is transpiring in the senate in terms of dysfunction and how important it is. and that's something... >> couric: when you leave, doesn't the dysfunction have a chance to take greater hold with your absence? >> well, my concern is that it's not going to change on the short term and that's what i had to consider where i am in my own life and adding six years as to whether or not it's going to change. i'm going to speak those questions on the outside but i am concerned that the lines have drawn. i mean, the analysis that has been done recently about ratings of all of us as senators,

whether conservative or liberal and so on. back in 1982 there were 58 senators that came between the most conservative democrats and the most liberal republican. today there are none. so there's not much of a center. and we have to decide that the institution has to not only solve problems but the american people have to give rewards to those people and individuals who are willing to work across party lines. there are no political rewards for that today. >> ifill: if you have to give a piece of advice to your successor about how to get the senate back to the middle to talking to agreement, to compromise, what would that advice be? >> well, my advice would just be to reach out to people of the other party and try to get... olympia's right. you don't get any credit particularly with voters in your state, particularly in the

primary process for reaching out to the other party, in fact, it's a real liability in some cases to do that i think it's important senators run on a platform they're going to come and work on solving problems and not that they're going to dig their heels in and refuse to compromise. >> ifill: senator snowe? >> i agree that. the advice i would give to my successor or to anybody who serves in the elective office in any level or the united states senate which is an institution designed by our founding fathers to build those bridges. i would certainly recommend being open and listening and talking to people with whom you disagree, not just to the people with whom you agree because at the end of the day you can't solve a problem if you're not talking to people that disagree with you. i they to my own constituents. i think the frustration that exists across this country a legitimate one from the standpoint whether it's occupy wall street or tea party is that we have failed to address the

key questions at this consequential moment in the life of america and i think that's the manifestation of all that frustration, anxiety, and anger and antipathy towards washington and congress. >> ifill: are you optimistic? >> i jut hope that in the aftermath of this election that people will come together and be determined to focus on those issues and make a material difference because the american people are fearful. i've traveled the country and i've heard and certainly my state they're fearful. they're more worried about the inability of elected officials in washington to get together and collaborate. they can't understand it. and america has always been a country can deal with big problems. i mean, that's really the essence of our greatness. >> ifill: retiring senator jeff bingaman of new mexico, thank you very much for joining us. and senator limp owe snowe retiring of maine, republican,

thank you. >> thank you, gwen. >> brown: again, the major developments of the day: late tonight there were reports of three apartment buildings outside of an apartment building in southwestern france where a gunman claiming ties to al qaeda was hold up. reuters reported the deputy mayor of toulouse and police saying the assault had begun to bring in the suspect of the murders of seven people. and the national football league imposed unprecedented penalties on the new orleans saints, over paying bounties for hits on opposing players. head coach sean payton was suspended for all of next season. >> warner: we've launched a new, year-long series-- online and on air-- called "coping with climate change." hari sreenivasan is here to tell us more about it. >> well, so often when you start covering climate change or the environment people want to relitigate whether it's a man made cause ornot. instead we're trying to focus on how different communities around

the country are focusing with their new normal. how the climate has affected them. whether it's agriculture in the midwest or along the gulf coast or the droughts if texas. >> warner: and two of your video pieces are already up online and blogs and you did start in texas. why start there? >> well, texas has had one of the most extreme droughts they ever had in their history just this last year. they've had droughts in the '30s and '50s but there weren't that many people there at the time. online we have a nice interactive map which lets you see the hundreds of record heat temperatures broken in texas. we also have the story of a well driller there whose business is booming because families are reaching out to him to dig deeper because they're out of water. we also have online a profile of a guy who calls himself the mayor of tank town. essentially he's capturing rainwater, bottling it and selling it as drinking water. >> the saying goes that noah didn't build the ark when it was raining. he planned on this thing. we plan on it, too, and we rely on the fact that if you put your

water in a proper container it ill last forever. >> ifill: he was my favorite. he talked about how everybody in town's hair is fluffier because they're using rainwater. >> that's right. >> warner: so tomorrow night we'll see a broadcast piece on the air. what's that about? >> it's a tale of two towns. we went from robert lee, texas. they're digging a 12-mile trench in west texas so they can buy water from their neighboring town. in spicewood beach, texas, they're the first town that has run out of water so we went to both those towns and we have that piece online right now so you can see it a day in advance. >> ifilladd >> warner: and that's the newshour tonight, i'm margaret warner. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. we'll see you online and again here tomorrow evening. thank you and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by:

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